CLIENT STORY · 2019–2021
Securing the Future of a
Growing Profession
The Outcome
Together, we formalized a 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(6) structure, unified policy representation, and built institutional infrastructure designed to protect long-term professional legitimacy and patient access.
Meet the Organization
Future of Chiropractic is a global coalition of practitioners committed to strengthening the long-term legitimacy and accessibility of chiropractic care.
The profession includes diverse clinical philosophies and strong independent leadership traditions. It is research-informed, values-driven, and largely volunteer-led. Practitioners are deeply committed to holistic care and patient choice.
At the time of engagement, leaders across the field recognized that the profession was at an inflection point. While there was deep conviction and capability, the field had grown in complexity without shared structure to carry it forward.
Setting the Stage
Members across the coalition represented different philosophical and political orientations within the chiropractic profession — each serving patients with conviction, clarity, and quality care.
As the profession engaged policymakers and regulatory bodies, leadership recognized a structural challenge: the field did not yet have disciplined mechanisms for aligning its public representation. Future of Chiropractic leadership did not want progress to slow simply because the profession valued nuance and patient choice. What was needed was a unified voice and durable mechanisms for alignment that did not flatten the range of clinical approaches.
At the same time, leadership was proactively looking ahead to ensure additional concerns did not gain speed:
Members across the coalition represented different philosophical and political orientations within the chiropractic profession — each serving patients with conviction, clarity, and quality care.
As the profession engaged policymakers and regulatory bodies, leadership recognized a structural challenge: the field did not yet have disciplined mechanisms for aligning its public representation. Future of Chiropractic leadership did not want progress to slow simply because the profession valued nuance and patient choice. What was needed was a unified voice and durable mechanisms for alignment that did not flatten the range of clinical approaches.
At the same time, leadership was proactively looking ahead to ensure additional concerns did not gain speed:
- Insurance reimbursement vulnerabilities and Medicaid access, with 84% of survey respondents ranking "securing third-party approval and expanding Medicare and Medicaid acceptance" as a top-four priority
- Research visibility within mainstream scientific journals and broader medical discourse, with 77% of respondents stating additional investment in research publication was needed
- Pathways for elevating evidence and shared priorities remaining underdeveloped, with only an estimated 75 professionals internationally focused on chiropractic research at baseline
- Operational and governance demands increasing within a predominantly volunteer-led coalition
- 80% of respondents ranking political and regulatory influence as an area requiring significant new effort
Leadership across the coalition believed strongly in the profession’s role within healthcare and wanted to ensure its long-term legitimacy, accessibility, and public trust.
The question was how to build enough shared structure to protect legitimacy and patient access while still honoring philosophical diversity.
Strategic Planning
Sharity was engaged to design a rigorous, participatory planning process capable of engaging the full spectrum of the profession.
Over approximately two years, during the early COVID era, we facilitated:
- An initial Future of Chiropractic Forum on November 9, 2019 in San Diego, bringing together state association leaders, colleges, national organizations, corporate partners, and practitioners
- A national stakeholder survey gathering 3,415 responses from practitioners across all 50 U.S. states as well as Australia
- Five structured cohort focus groups representing early-career DCs, experienced practitioners, chiropractic researchers and regulators, educational leadership, and students
- Five "Expected and Preferred Future" workshops and a culminating Future Summit in March 2021
- Sixteen open discussion board topics focused on professional unification, legislation, insurance access, research, and scope of practice
- Four intensive Phase II workgroups focused on Professional Identity, Research, Utilization, and Legislation
- Stakeholder interviews with researchers, policy influencers, and organizational leaders
In total, nearly 4,000 chiropractic professionals contributed to the planning process.
Because many participants were researchers and policy-minded professionals, the process required methodological rigor. It also required neutrality: creating space for ideological diversity while building structural coherence.
It was important that the coalition’s work allowed room for differing perspectives while clarifying shared ground.
Through this engagement, leaders across the profession articulated a unifying principle:
“One profession. Many ways to practice.”
That statement established a shared public identity while creating room for philosophical diversity and patient choice.
A three-year strategic plan followed, outlining priorities in governance, research positioning, policy engagement, and infrastructure development.
Team & Governance Alignment
Future of Chiropractic began as a volunteer-led coalition without an overly formalized structure.
Through the planning process, the coalition:
- Identified conciliatory leaders across philosophical lines
- Established a formal governance framework with six implementation committees focused on communications, fundraising, research, government affairs, and technology
- Secured an initial pledge of more than $70,000 in financial commitments during the April 2021 Tampa working session
- Formally structured in 2022 as Chiropractic Future, LLC (501(c)(6)) for operational and advocacy work, alongside Chiropractic Future Charitable Fund, LLC (501(c)(3)) for philanthropic activity
- Formed an Interim Strategic Plan Leadership Committee of 25 volunteer leaders representing diverse regions and philosophical traditions
Rather than relying on informal coordination, the field now had durable institutional architecture capable of representing it cohesively — while allowing diverse practitioners and clinical approaches to participate fully.
Operational & Funding Infrastructure
As governance became more defined, infrastructure followed.
The organization established:
- A PR and public-facing communications function
- A dedicated fundraising committee
- Staff support, including a Project Manager role
- A Chiropractic Research Fellowship at Dartmouth, initially seeded through a $100,000 Pierce Family gift
- Political engagement infrastructure, including the formation of BAC-PAC (Better Access to Chiropractic PAC), a federal Super PAC supporting pro-chiropractic policy engagement
The Dartmouth fellowship, awarded in December 2022 and launched in August 2023, became the first chiropractic research fellowship of its kind in the United States — placing a chiropractic researcher in a three-year postdoctoral program at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice.
Financial participation emerged organically from the participatory process. Leaders who helped shape the strategy also invested in carrying it forward.
This marked the transition from coalition to enduring institution.
Real-World Outcomes
Since the completion of the strategic planning process:
- The profession now engages policymakers through coordinated legislative strategy and political infrastructure
- Insurance access advocacy remains active and coordinated through dedicated third-party payor and legislative efforts
- Research infrastructure and publication pathways have strengthened, including the launch of the first U.S. chiropractic research fellowship at a major academic medical institution
- Fourteen goals have been achieved against the 2021–2026 strategic plan
- The organization filed landmark briefs with the Department of Justice on behalf of the chiropractic profession in June 2025
- The organization remains active and operational more than four years after completion of the strategic planning process
Since implementation, the organization has continued mobilizing the profession at scale: 103 volunteers engaged, 24,200 hours invested, $1,128,154 raised, and $1,040,627 in in-kind contributions donated.
The original priorities that prompted the engagement were addressed through a structure that allows professional differences to evolve in learning and clinical spaces while public representation remains coordinated and effective.
We’re proud to say Future of Chiropractic continues to operate predominantly volunteer-led, supported by the governance and infrastructure established during our engagement.
Impact since implementation
~4,000
Professionals engaged in the planning process
14
Strategic goals achieved against the 2021–2026 plan
$1.1M
Raised since implementation
103
Ongoing volunteers engaged
24,200
Volunteer hours invested
4+ yrs
Active and operational after engagement completion
"This sustained participation reflects the durability of the governance structure, shared ownership, and long-term alignment established through the strategic planning process."
What We Learned
Professional fields do not need uniformity to remain strong. They need structure.
This engagement demonstrates that disciplined process and shared language can produce governance architecture capable of supporting diverse philosophies without weakening public legitimacy.
Alignment does not require sameness — it requires systems designed to hold difference productively.
What Might We Do Together?
If your organization is wrestling with outcomes that don’t reflect the work — or the why — we can help you define, measure, and communicate what really matters.